Practical writing tips for young authors

Tag: Romance

Misty doesn’t know who she is. Nineteen years old, she’s trapped inside who she has been, with no idea who she could be.

When she goes to Mill’s End to take care of her stubborn, book-loving grandmother, she finds herself torn between past and present. The answer to who she is lies hidden in her grandmother’s library. Her path to find herself takes her through the fading pages of dusty books and the memories of a woman who has lived a full life. It is up to Misty to write the final chapter to the dearest story of them all.Continue reading “Book Review: Through the Pages by Annie Louise Twitchell”→

Those of you who’ve been on the blog since last August (and maybe those of you who haven’t) have probably read Sea Glass & Pressed Flowers, which was my third short story on the blog. It’s not my most fabulous work, but I really enjoyed writing it. I’ve interviewed the secondary character Livi Brooklyn, but I have yet to interview any of the other characters, including the main character Keslie Bardell. Keslie is sweet, loves the ocean, loves music, is a great artist and a dancer, and loves coffee shops (specifically the one she works at) and warm cozy things. Enjoy her interview. :)

This story is just a for-fun story I started a while back to experiment with the romance genre and have an excuse to write what’s basically Maze Runner fanfiction. (Yes, I hated those books. That doesn’t mean I hated all the characters, and tossing in extra characters means I can partially rewrite the plot.) I actually didn’t intend to ever share this with anyone beyond my best friend, but it was on the list of stories I’ve started and it’s what the random number generator landed on, so here’s your snippet. Enjoy. :)

A legal note in case it’s necessary: The Maze Runner and all characters therein belong to James Dashner.

Romance is a large feature in the majority of books (at least above middle-grade level). It’s nearly impossible to find a book without at least one romance in it, and almost as hard to find a book with a good romance in it. The romances found in most books today are shallow, based almost entirely on physical attraction, and often have little basis in a prior platonic relationship. This is not a good kind of relationship to be praising and providing examples of. Real relationships require much more than physical attraction to survive, and relationships based only Continue reading “Why the Literary World Needs Better Romances (And How to Write Them)”→

I’m afraid I didn’t have time this week to write a new short story for the blog, but here’s one that will be going in the upcoming short story collection I’m publishing (hopefully on the 20th). Enjoy. :)

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Nya strode to the railing of the upper deck, her booted footsteps pounding on the wood. Waves lapped against the hull and a night breeze ruffled the feather in her hat. All eyes below turned to her. For a long moment there was silence.

“I have found a map to Peter Pan’s hideout,” she announced.

A great cheer went up from the crew. It was followed by questions like “where is it?” and “how far is it?” and “let’s take it!”